


Chosen One

by Zhallanna



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars: Poe Dameron: Free Fall - Alex Segura
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Awkward Crush, Awkward Poe Dameron, Bisexual Poe Dameron, Canon Compliant, Friends to Lovers to Enemies, Jedi Ben Solo, M/M, Male Love, Movie: Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Pilot Poe Dameron, Post-Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Pre-Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Protective Ben Solo, Sad Ending, Spoilers for Poe Dameron: Free Fall
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-18 18:28:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29122677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zhallanna/pseuds/Zhallanna
Summary: Poe Dameron and Ben Solo initially meet as teens and almost immediately become friends. Underneath it all, each of these two young men wish for a deeper bond with the other but are unable to fully express these feelings until the time is right...NOTE: I will try to keep most of the story elements as close to canon compliant as possible... hence the sad ending tag as we know this is a relationship that's ultimately doomed to fail.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 8
Kudos: 5
Collections: Write My Rare Ships!





	1. The Uneti Tree

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [Rarewishes](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Rarewishes) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> In terms of the tags, they’re more of what I want to see. I would love to see stuff set pre-TROS (hey, it has a time jump; might as well take advantage of it) — the “stranded together” tag is one particular scenario for them both. I also love the idea that they were childhood friends/sweethearts before Ben’s fall to the Dark Side. 
> 
> For DNWs, I’m not particularly fond of rape/non-con, OOC (especially not with Poe being a complete asshole. For example, him trying to rape Kylo), bashing Kylo’s parents (or any character bashing), Kylo being easily forgiven for his actions, Reylo, and watersports/scat.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe by chance meets a new friend in the form of Ben Solo... who just happens to be visiting the Dameron farm with his uncle, Luke Skywalker.

Poe could never quite fathom why he was always so drawn to that strange Uneti tree in his parents’ front yard. It’s thick, twisted branches reached up towards the sky as if the tree itself was praying to some unknown entity.

The fact that this tree had grown so fast had always piqued the teen’s curiosity. His father told him when he was younger that it was planted as a sapling shortly after he was born 15 years ago. The sapling had been given to his mother by Luke Skywalker, himself and both of his parents had promised to take good care of it.

There had been stories over the years that Yavin 4 was especially attuned to the Force, and that the towering stone ziggurat ruins rising above the moon’s expansive tree line were the remains of ancient Sith burial sites. Since none of his family were Force sensitive, they had no basis to determine one way or another about it.

The teen slid down until his back rested comfortably between a pair of knotted stalks along the tree’s trunk. Deft fingers then tugged forth a small chain from underneath his shirt and gazed upon the smooth ring held fast upon it. This ring was his mother’s which was given to him after her death 7 years prior. Dark brown eyes scanned the simple golden band as he softly smiled.

When he’d been given the band initially, a note had been placed inside the box with it which read: _For One Most Worthy._ Poe could only assume that he was meant to eventually offer it to his future wife, but he had no time to think about girls when all he wanted to do was become a pilot and get off this moon.

His thoughts were rudely interrupted by the sound of two familiar voices originating from the opposite side of the self-same tree he was still propped up against.

“Dameron. Good to see you again…” Poe knew that voice anywhere. The deep vibrato of L’ulo L’ampar. He was the only Duros Poe had ever met who could speak Basic, or at least was willing to speak it to others. The sound of hands slapping together in a friendly handshake emitted through the air next.

“L’ampar. Good to see you too….” His father with his usual polite response after the pair had shook hands. “Though I will say I’m quite surprised to see you here, Commander Skywalker.”

Skywalker? THE Luke Skywalker? Poe’s dark eyes briskly turned and craned far enough so he could catch even the briefest glimpse of the Jedi. The man was much shorter than he’d imagined… with short dusky blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a long brown cloak which was completely pulled around him for the time being.

Skywalker smiled faintly and seemed to nod his head towards the tree. “I just came to see how things are progressing… if that’s alright.” His tenor voice was somewhat monotone… a trait Poe had heard many Jedi adopt when they were more prevalent.

Kes Dameron blinked in a bit of nervousness before waving a hand towards the house. “Y-yes of course. Please come in, both of you.” To be fair, it was easy to feel intimidated being in the same space as one of the Heroes of the Rebellion, especially when that self-same hero was also the brother of General Leia Organa.

Poe simply shook his head with a snide smirk on his lips before suddenly hearing a fourth voice from just off to his left.

“Do you always hide when guests show up like this?”

The teen nearly jumped in place as his face immediately turned to identify the voice’s owner. Who he found was a kid slightly younger than himself standing there in a brown and tan tunic. His hair was pitch black with a slight bit of wave to it. His brown eyes were soft even as he offered Poe a tight-lipped smile.

Dameron slowly rose to his feet as he replied with, “Not usually, no. I was just… thinking.” Deft fingers slipped his mother’s ring underneath his shirt while his other hand brushed any stray grass that may be left on his pants back down to the ground.

The other boy’s eyes rose up to admire the tree as his own hands fell down behind his back. “I can see why. This tree has a strange… aura. I couldn’t help but be drawn to it.”

How old was this kid? No more than 11 or 12 at most, and yet he spoke with such intelligence that Poe was completely in awe of him. He mirrored his new companion’s gaze with a nod soon afterward. “I wish I could climb up there but the upper branches don’t seem to like that too much.”

“Why not?” came the boy’s response as he lifted his chin to look even higher.

A good question, to be fair. The last time Poe had even attempted to climb up there was when he was 8… right before his mother died. He noticeably winced at the thought as a hand lifted to brush over his own short dark hair. “I’m… I was a lot smaller when I last climbed up there. My father has made me promise not to harm the tree again.”

That caused the other teen to return his eyes to Poe with an incredulous expression on his face. “Again? What exactly did you do?”

Poe rolled his eyes with his tan skin taking on the beginnings of a soft blush. “I uh… I took my dad’s koyo picker and attached a pair of podracer engines to it to, you know, make the thing go faster.” Shoulders lifted in a resigned shrug. “The exhaust from the engines accidentally hit the tree’s trunk, though, and damaged it. He made me spend a whole year taking care it of as punishment.”

It was then that Dameron expected the younger boy to chastise him for even thinking of doing such a thing. It was a rather careless decision for even a then 12 year-old to make.

However, the reaction he did receive was that of a snorted giggle which the boy tried horribly to hide behind a slim hand. A giggle which caused Poe himself to respond with a long laugh of his own as the blush already on his face only grew warmer.

Only when they’d both calmed down enough to speak did the other boy extend the same slim hand outwards. “I’m Ben, by the way.”

Poe’s semi-calloused hand reached across to grasp Ben’s in return. “Poe. Nice to uh… meet you.” Ben’s hand was soft to the touch yet housed a firm grip. A rather odd combination that the older teen wasn’t quite used to.

Ben was the first to release the grasp if only to rub his two hands together with a growing expression of mirth. “Now then… should we see about getting you back into those top branches?”

“What?” Poe couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. “As I said I’m too b-“

However his excuse was utterly cut off as feet soon rose up slowly from the ground. Eyes went as wide as saucers as Poe’s entire form was soon floating up into the air. “Whoaaaaaaaa,” he exclaimed with arms flapping widely through the air.

The younger teen managed to smile wide as his eyes almost twinkled in response. Fingertips curled as he guided Poe upwards with the Force until he was floating right above the tree’s upper leaves. “How about that?”

Dameron’s arms finally stopped waving around as he quickly figured out that he wasn’t going to fall. Instead he craned his head downwards towards his new friend as he asked, “You… can use the Force?”

“Yeah…” Ben answered without even a second thought. “Runs in my family…” Hands then lowered as he carefully brought the older teen back down to the ground. “I’m training with my uncle but I’m still a long way off from being a real Jedi.”

Poe let out a relieved breath at his feet could once again feel the ground beneath him but then froze in place. “Wait… your mom is General Organa?”

A matter-of-fact shrug was the silent answer from Ben’s tiny shoulders.

“Wow so you’re….” Poe began to pace in place as his stomach nearly exploded from the revelation. “You… you’re training with Luke Skywalker.” Hands wrung together nervously. “This is… wow.”

Ben rolled his eyes “Will you stop pacing? You’re making me dizzy.” He reached out to drop his hand upon Poe’s shoulder. “I’m just Ben, okay? It’s not like I need everyone to know who my family is.”

The older boy paused in his steps and flopped back into his favorite knotted groove against the tree. Hands rose up in quiet surrender as he smirked. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” He took a deep breath and then nodded quickly. “Alright. Ben it is.”

“Thanks Poe.” He began to speak further just as he heard the house door swing open and Luke calling out from within. “I… that’s… I need to go.”

Poe’s own eyes turned towards the direction of the other voice as well and sighed faintly. “Yeah… Well it was… nice to meet you Ben.”

The younger boy’s hands once again fell behind his back as he offered his new friend a gentle smile. “You too.” He seemed as if he wanted to say more as he heard his name called out once more. Brown eyes were forced to turn away as was his feet as Ben walked around the tree and completely out of view.

Poe’s back slid down the side of the tree until he was once again sitting upon the soft grass. He couldn’t help but grin at the encounter he’d just experienced with Ben Solo… secretly hoping it wouldn’t be their last.


	2. Temptation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe and Ben both find themselves ensnared into situations that could potentially draw them into a great deal of trouble...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took sooooo long to get done! I had to be in just the right headspace to get both of the boy's stories to work within the overall SW timeline.
> 
> Also just a warning that I have NOT read _Star Wars: Poe Dameron - Free Fall_ , but the next few Chapters will follow some of the book's general elements. I've simply changed scenes so that this story will mesh better with specific events mentioned in the novel.

Poe had lost track of how many arguments he’d had with his father by this point. They’d all intertwined together into a giant black blob of resentment deep within his mind. Kes Dameron couldn’t fathom how trapped his son felt on the Yavin moon. He could never accept that perhaps the teen had a purpose that far exceeded farming.

It was on this particular dreary evening that Poe began his journey to do that very thing… at least in his mind initially.

After some shouting match with his father over something so insignificant that he’d cared not to stock away in memory, Poe snuck off the farm and took off on his speeder to the closest outpost he could reach without causing too much of a stir. Not an easy feat considering his growing reputation as a ‘troublemaker’ amongst his peers.

Tonight, however, Poe happened to stumble right into the perfect watering hole and find the people who would get him off this rock. This almost divine bout of serendipity struck the teen as he bumped into a girl with soft blue eyes and wavy, light brown hair on his way through the darkened cantina. Instead of trying to shoot him, she instead extended a warm smile and an equally soothing invitation to join her and her friends at a nearby table.

The boy always been somewhat uncomfortable being in large crowds. Perhaps it was why he preferred the solitude of a cockpit to the busy streets of town. For some unfathomable reason, though, Poe felt completely relaxed with Zorii and her four friends. Apart from L’ulo, Dameron hadn’t really thought of anyone as a close friend up to this point. Observing his five tablemates chatting, laughing, and generally having a good time made him secretly yearn to be a part of that.

Soon enough, their exchange shifted to a subject that caused Poe’s ears to perk up faster than a nexu's.

“So you all do realize,” Marinda spoke up after wiping her lips with the back of her sleeve. “We’re still grounded, right?”

Gen gave the twi’lek a sideways glance with those sunken red eyes of his. “Only until we find a pilot, Mari.” Long, grey fingers drew his cup up to his lips for a brisk sip of his 3rd drink for the evening. “I’m sure we’ll find somebody who can get us off this rock.”

A loud grunt originating from Tomasso’s chest answered the pau’an’s words as the man sat back in his chair. “You see anyone in here who looks like a pilot?”

Viglich smacked the older man’s upper arm in jest with a meaty green hand. “What? You think all pilots just walk around casually wearing a giant sign that says, ‘I can fly things’?”

“I… I’m a pilot…”

The table abruptly went completely silent as 5 pairs of eyes were immediately drawn towards the soft male voice who’d just uttered those words.

Brown eyes widened considerably as Poe swallowed and then offered the others a timid smile.

“Wait a second,” Zorii turned in her chair to better face the other teen. “Did you just say that you’re a pilot, Poe?”

Tom’s brows gradually rose up while giving their new companion a dubious stare. “Oh you are, huh?” He leaned back with arms crossing tightly over his chest. “Let me tell you something, kid. Piloting a ship across the galaxy is a whole lot different than dashing around on a speeder.”

Gen and Marinda both couldn’t help but snicker at Tomasso’s comment… at least until Zorii granted the both of them a stone cold glare in response.

Dameron’s fingers curled forwards until two tight fists were perched upon his lap. Eyes drew into a half-hooded stare as he spoke. “My mother… was a decorated A-wing pilot who flew during the Battle of Endor. She taught me… everything she knew before she died, so I’m pretty sure I know more than you do about flying.” He forced himself up from his chair as he clicked his jaw. “But… if you want to remain stuck here on this stupid moon until you possibly cross paths with another pilot, be my guest.”

With a snort, Poe turned and rose from his seat to leave his newfound associates to their drink and misery. In fact he almost accomplished that very thing… until he felt a small hand grasp his forearm.

“Poe… Sit down, please?” Zorii’s face then took on the most pleading expression he’d ever seen. Those pale eyes of hers alone were mesmerizing to the point that he couldn’t say no.

Dameron tightened his jaw while eyes darted between each figure at the dark table. Only when he focused once more on Zorii did he turn his waist and plant his bottom right back down in the very spot he’d planned on exiting from.

Damn it all.

After giving the fellow teen a gentle smile, Zorii then angled herself back towards the others. “Poe says he’s a pilot, and I believe him. Honestly he’s the best chance we’ve got. So… can we at least see what he can do?”

Marinda, Gen and Viglich all gave each other silent glances before finally nodding in turn to Zorii. Tom on the other hand flashed a long look at the girl and then an equally steeled stare at the boy sitting next to her.

“You really want to help us, kid?” He finally answered with a sly grin. “Fine. Let’s pop you in the cockpit and we’ll be the judge if you’re as good as you say you are…”

\----------------------------

Ben knew within the first few moments of stepping off the ship that he was going to greatly dislike visiting Tatooine. Luke had sent him here on some sort of pilgrimage to get him more in tune with the Force. Despite previous travels across the galaxy to find lost relics with his uncle, Ben been sent here alone to find a specific item at a Jedi Master’s former dwelling. The question of how and where to find it was something the teen had to figure out for himself.

He exited the Anchorhead spaceport and was immediately struck with the intense light and heat of the twin suns hovering above. A hand rose up to shield his dark eyes from the two relentless orbs as the other pulled his hood up to cover his unruly hair. Once his cloak was pulled tight across his thin chest, the teen began weaving through the busy marketplace to perhaps find someone willing to help him with his special task.

Sucking in a deep breath, the young Padawan managed to find his way across town and finally stumble into what appeared to be the local cantina. He paused in the doorway to take in his surroundings before padding a bit further inside. He nearly tripped over a pair of jawas who scurried around him and out the front door without as much as a second thought.

Ben slowly smirked and shook his head before striding over towards the closest counter. Slim fingers attempted to flag down a passing server to no avail, and his second attempt to draw the attention of a gamorrean who was sitting nearby was answered with a loud squeal of disapproval from the green-skinned patron.

The teen then let forth a long sigh and plopped onto a nearby stool with shoulders slumping forwards.

“You’re a brave one to venture into a place like this, kid,” a female voice suddenly spoke up from behind him.

Ben nearly jumped where he sat with his hand immediately slipping beneath his cloak to grasp the hilt of his lightsaber. His jaw tightened while slowly turning around and finally spying a human woman sitting a few stools away with a loose hood draped around her head. A few strands of blonde hair were tousled around her slim face as hazel eyes glimpsed over at him.

The woman set her tall drink down upon her table and leaned back within her seat as her chin lowered just a touch. “I’m surprised to see you of all people hanging around Anchorhead by yourself.” She then nodded down to whatever the teen was potentially reaching for underneath his cloak. “At least you’re smart enough to be armed.”

The young man cleared his throat and pulled his cloak further around himself before leaning an elbow against a nearby table. Even at 14, he had a bit of reputation in the New Republic. Being a part of the Skywalker family would forever mark him to live up to what his mother, father and uncle had already accomplished. It was a lofty pedestal that he secretly despised, to be sure.

Regardless, Ben hadn’t expected to be recognized by anyone so far into the Outer Rim. Perhaps he was hoping to finally find the one place in the galaxy where he could walk around freely without being noticed. He pursed his lips into a deep frown with eyes twitching in annoyance but otherwise he decided to remain silent for now.

The blonde shook her head and rolled her eyes while a hand reached once more for her cup. “Not much of a talker, are you?” Her shoulders rose and fell with a faint shrug before her head dipped back for a long drink. “You can relax, kid. My name’s Sela. Sela Trune with the Security Bureau.” Her smile was dripping with sarcasm as she crossed one leg long ways over the other. “I’m not here to spy on you, I promise. I’m on a mission of my own.”

Dark brows lifted in pure surprise as Ben seemed to gradually relax where he sat. “Oh? You’re here for someone else, then?”

Trune nodded her head, causing the blonde curls around her face to lightly bounce. “Yes. I’m searching for a group of Spice runners who’ve eluded the New Republic for years.” She tapped her fingers along the edge of her knee as her eyes darted casually around the cantina. “I’ve been tracking them for some time now and plan to bring them to justice by any means necessary.”

The Padawan had heard about the Spice trade before from his father Han. It was the reason Jabba the Hutt had put a bounty on the smuggler’s head in the first place. His head tilted slightly to the left as he asked, “You think they’re hiding out here somewhere?”

Her lips widened into what could only be described as a mischievous smirk. “What? You think I like coming all the way out to this dust ball for the food?”

Before Ben could even respond to such a witty statement, a female twi’lek wearing a rather revealing outfit strode up behind Sela and bent down to whisper something softly into her ear. After giving the girl a quick nod she downed the rest of her drink and then swung her leg around. “I apologize, but I have to head on out. Give my regards to your mom.” She offered the teen a quick salute and then turned to head through the sparse crowd towards the back of the bar.

Dark eyes followed the Security Officer until her form finally disappeared from view. A million thoughts syphoned through Ben’s mind in the few seconds it took for him to hop down off the stool and make his way along the same path the determined woman was headed.

That Jedi relic could wait just a little while longer, right?


End file.
